Ukraine destroys Russian strategic bomber Tu-22M3 for first time

First destruction of the X-22 and Tu-22M3

On the night of April 19, the Russian troops launched a combined strike with missiles of various types and attack UAVs on Ukraine.

"For the first time, anti-aircraft missile units of the Ukrainian Air Force in cooperation with the Defense Intelligence destroyed a Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber, a carrier of Kh-22 cruise missiles, which Russian terrorists use to hit peaceful Ukrainian cities. During Russa's attack, two such missiles were destroyed for the first time," he says.

Ukrainian Air Defense Forces' work

As a result of the anti-aircraft battle, 29 Russian air targets were destroyed:

• 2 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles;
• 14 Shahed-131/136 attack UAVs;
• 11 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles;
• 2 Kh-22 cruise missiles.

Anti-aircraft missile troops of the Ukrainian Air Force, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces were involved in repelling the Russian air attack.

Russian attack on Ukraine

According to the general, Russia used a total of 36 air attack weapons - 22 missiles of various types and 14 attack drones:

• 2 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from Tu-95 MS strategic aviation aircraft (Ryazan launch area);
• 14 Shahed-131/136 attack UAVs (from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk regions);
• 12 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles (Kursk region and from the Sea of Azov);
• 2 Iskander-K cruise missiles (from Crimea);
• 6 Kh-22 cruise missiles from Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bombers (from the Black and Azov Seas).

Destruction of Russian bomber Tu-22M3

On April 19, Russian Tu-22M3 military aircraft, which had launched missiles at Ukraine a few hours earlier, crashed in the Stavropol Territory (Russia). The Russian Federation recognized the crash.

Later, it became known that the downing of the Tu-22M3 bomber in Russia was an operation of Ukrainian intelligence. The plane was attacked 300 kilometers from Ukraine.

The Tu-22M3 is known to be a carrier of Kh-22 missiles, which Ukrainian air defense has not destroyed before. The fact is that the Kh-22s fly at supersonic speeds and enter the target on a ballistic trajectory, which makes them difficult to intercept.

The downed Tu-22M3 took part in a massive Russian attack on Ukraine on the night of April 19, the epicenter of which was Dnipro and the Dnipropetrovsk region. In the region, the Russian troops targeted the railway infrastructure, the Dnipro railway station stopped working, and there were train delays. There are also casualties, both among civilians and Ukrainian railways employees. Among the victims, in particular, in the Synelnykove district of Dnipropetrovsk region, there are two children - 6 and 8 years old.